Ash tray and extinguishing element support



Jan. 7, 1964 C. A. SECKERSON 3,116,742 ASH TRAY AND EXTINGUISHING ELEMENT SUPPORT Filed March so, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet l 15 FIG| I [i l 15 H67 3' FIGS 2 15 18' zo INVENTOR ATTORNEY ,1964 c. A. SECKERSON 3,

ASH TRAY AND EXTINGUISHING ELEMENT SUPPORT Filed March so, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR CLIFFORD ALEXANDER SECKERSON ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofifice 3,11%,242 Patented Jan. 7, l d l 3,116,742 ASH TRAY AND EXTINGUISHWG ELEMENT SUI IE'" RT Clifiord Alexander Secherson, Iver Heath, England, as-

signor tn United-Carr Fastener (Iorporation, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 3d, 1961, Ser. No. 99,496 Claims priority, application Great Britain Apr. 1, B69 3 Claims. (El. l31235) The present invention relates to a fastener which is particularly, although not exclusively suitablefor removably securing a cigarette stubber or extinguishing element in an ashtray.

It is common practice in the automobile industry to provide an ashtray, removably secured within a recess in a panel of a car body. It has been found desirable to provide such ashtrays with a cigarette stubber and hitherto the cigarette stubber has always been screwed, riveted or staked to the ashtray. All of these known methods are either expensive or labor wasting and it is an object of the present invention to provide means for removably securing a cigarette stubber in an ashtray which is both inexpensive and easy to assemble.

A preferred form of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a bottom plan View of the cigarette extinguishing element embodying the novel features of the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the cigarette extinguishing element illustrated in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a front elevational View of the cigarette extinguishing element illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2,

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the extinguishing element taken along line AA of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of the extinguishing element taken along line B-B of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary elevational view of a cigarette extinguishing element receiving slot of an associated ashtray,

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary top plan view of the element receiving slot illustrated in FIGURE 6,

FIGURE 8 shows an assembly of an ashtray removably secured within a panel forming part of an automobile body.

An extin uishing element is indicated generally in the figures at 9. The element 9 is formed from a single strip of material which after being sheared and bent to the shape shown may be rendered resilient and rustproof in any known and convenient manner.

The extinguishing element comprises a flat body lid joined approximately at right angles to a tail 17. The body It extends into a fiat tapering arm 11. At the junction between the body and the arm is formed a lug l2 directed upwardly and away from the tail and at the forward end of the arm Ii, remote from the tail, is a depression 13 formed with slots and serving as a ciga stubber or extinguisher. The peripheral portion or the arm 11 is downwardly flanged as at 14 to stiffen the arm.

A pair of mutually similar bowed tongues 15 and In in the form of leaf-springs extend laterally of the body as shown in FIG. 1, and are bent so as to have a portion spaced from the body on that side of the body remote from the tail.

The tail 17 is inclined to the body at an angle of just over 90 and has sheared from it a rectangular aperture 178. Thus the tail in effect comprises two legs 1 and 2417, joined at their ends remote from the head by a foot 21, each of the legs being undulated so that the tail is in the form of a bent spring, of approximately a shallow .s-shape, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 4.

The fastener is designed for use with an ashtray which may be in the form of a box, without a lid, of rectangular horizontal section. A portion of the rear wall of the box is shown at 22 in FIGURES 6 and 7. It is formed with a slot 23, of length equal to or greater than the length of the tail of the fastener, by length of the slot being meant the distance from the open to the closed end, into which the tail 17 may be frictionally engaged by pushing the tail into the slot until the rear end of the body It) bears against the top of the wall 22. When this has been done the stubber lies above the open mouth of the box so that ash may fall through the stubber into the tray.

The tail 17 when engaged in the slot 23 bears against one wall of the slot at two positions, shown at X and Z in FIGURE 8, spaced along the length of the slot, and against the opposite wall of the slot at one position, shown at Y, intermediate the first two positions. This engagement which is achieved by virtue of the shape of the tail ensures an effective frictional grip between the tail and the slot and reduces the tendency for the tail to rock or turn in the slot.

To ensure an easy lead-in of the tail to the slot the tail is formed as shown, so that when assembl d in the slot, its free end is spaced from both walls of the slot.

When the fastener is assembled on the ashtray the ashtray is then pushed into a suitably proportioned recess in a panel which may for instance form part of an automo bile.

The final assembly is shown in FIGURE 8. An ash tray 24, with the tail of the fastener engaged in the slot 23 is engaged in a recess 2'5 in a panel 26. In this position the tongues 15 and 16 are resiliently pressed against the upper surface of the recess, thus preventing or damping any movement of the ashtray relative to the panel 26 and eliminating any rattle also, the spring tongues 15 and 16 press against the upper wall or surface of the recess 25 to efiectively apply a downward pressure or force on the tail 1? to help in maintaining the tail with the slot 23 and militate against outward movement thereof upon the downward movement of free end of body it? caused by the pressure of a cigarette when being stubbed or extinguished. The upper surface of the recess 25 is provided with a notch 27 so that as the ashtray is withdrawn from the recess the lug 12 will act as a stop engaging in the notch 27 preventing the ashtray from being completely withdrawn from the recess.

The ashtray may however be fully withdrawn from the recess by depressing the arm 11 so that the lug i2 is disengaged from the notch 27.

It will be seen that although the tail is shown in the figures as comprising two legs joined by a foot this is not essential to the invention, and the tail may be formed without the aperture 18.

What I claim is:

1. In an ashtray having a vertically disposed cigarette extinguishing element receiving slot at one end portion thereof, the ash tray being adapted for movement into and out of a supporting :ieans therefor including spaced upper and lower horizontally disposed wall members, a cigarette extinguishing element comprised of a single strip of resilient sheet material having a generally horizontally extending body portion and a downwardly extending tail portion integrally connected to one end of said body portion, said tail portion having spring means for slidable engagement in said element receiving slot, said body portion having an extinguishing means at the other end thereof, and a pair of spring tongues located near the one end of said body portion to resiliently press against a portion of the upper wall of said supporting means when said ashtray is moved outwardly with respect to the sup porting means to expose said extinguishing means, said tongues applying a downward force on said tail portion to counteract a turning moment effected by the flexure of said body portion caused by downward pressure applied to said extinguishing means by a cigarette being extinguished and thereby assisting in maintaining said tail portion within the confines of said slot.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said tail portion has an undulated portion and the free end of said tail portion is spaced from the walls of said element receiving slot.

3. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said tail portion bears against one wall of said slot at at least two positions spaced along said slot, and against an opposing 4 slot wall at a position intermediate the said first two positions.

References Qitcd in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,896,746 Henry Feb. 7, 1933 2,221,959 Visser Nov. 19, 1940 2,325,721 Visser Aug. 3, 1943 2,652,838 Wolfe Sept. 22, 1953 2,748,778 Olson June 5, 1956 2,918,244 Laney Dec. 22, 1959 

1. IN AN ASHTRAY HAVING A VERTICALLY DISPOSED CIGARETTE EXTINGUISHING ELEMENT RECEIVING SLOT AT ONE END PORTION THEREOF, THE ASH TRAY BEING ADAPTED FOR MOVEMENT INTO AND OUT OF A SUPPORTING MEANS THEREFOR INCLUDING SPACED UPPER AND LOWER HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED WALL MEMBERS, A CIGARETTE EXTINGUISHING ELEMENT COMPRISED OF A SINGLE STRIP OF RESILIENT SHEET MATERIAL HAVING A GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING BODY PORTION AND A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING TAIL PORTION INTEGRALLY CONNECTED TO ONE END OF SAID BODY PORTION, SAID TAIL PORTION HAVING SPRING MEANS FOR SLIDABLE ENGAGEMENT IN SAID ELEMENT RECEIVING SLOT, SAID BODY PORTION HAVING AN EXTINGUISHING MEANS AT THE OTHER END THEREOF, AND A PAIR OF SPRING TONGUES LOCATED NEAR THE ONE END OF SAID BODY PORTION TO RESILIENTLY PRESS AGAINST A PORTION OF THE UPPER WALL OF SAID SUPPORTING MEANS WHEN SAID ASHTRAY IS MOVED OUTWARDLY WITH RESPECT TO THE SUPPORTING MEANS TO EXPOSE SAID EXTINGUISHING MEANS, SAID TONGUES APPLYING A DOWNWARD FORCE ON SAID TAIL PORTION TO COUNTERACT A TURNING MOMENT EFFECTED BY THE FLEXURE OF SAID BODY PORTION CAUSED BY DOWNWARD PRESSURE APPLIED TO SAID EXTINGUISHING MEANS BY A CIGARETTE BEING EXTINGUISHED AND THEREBY ASSISTING IN MAINTAINING SAID TAIL PORTION WITHIN THE CONFINES OF SAID SLOT. 